


It's All In The Eyes

by LadyAnput



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Needs Help, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, F/F, F/M, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth Bashing, Illegitimate Daughter, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Other, Single Parents, no editor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:21:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27326488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyAnput/pseuds/LadyAnput
Summary: Gabriel Agreste has his goal; to get the Miraculous so that he can get back his perfect wife, so that he can have the perfect family society once admired.But during Fashion Week, he meets a young woman with blue eyes, much like his own. And he sees his perfect world starting to crack on the surface.
Relationships: Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth & Original Character(s), Lila Rossi & Lila Rossi's Mother, Lila Rossi & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 50





	It's All In The Eyes

The morning’s first rays barely peeked through the curtains of the tiny university dorm room when the phone on the nightstand began to ring. 

The young man in the bed groaned slightly as he sat up, taking a moment to allow his brain to clear before he answered it.

The woman next to him sat up, stretching her body with a soft groan. She opened her eyes and smiled at the sight of him, her perfect lover. His tall, lean body that she knew every inch of, though she did wince at the sight of the scratch marks on his back, at the sight of broken skin from when she had gotten a bit too enthusiastic. Perhaps it was time that she trimmed her nails, maybe try out the new nail polish she had bought. With a small, happy sigh, she crawled across the small bed and hugged him from behind, her warm, naked body pressing against his back.

“Of course, I will be there tonight.” The man paid the woman no heed as he spoke on the phone, writing a number down on the small pad of paper on the nightstand, keeping his voice curt, his responses short. The woman laid her cheek on his shoulder, a grin so wide on her face her cheeks hurt. She closed her eyes and listened to the rumbling in his chest as he spoke to whoever it was on the phone, to the beating of his heart that seemed so calming. She planted a kiss on his cheek, not noticing how he barely acknowledged her. “I look forward to seeing you and mother there.”

“Who was that, Gabriel?” The woman hugged him a bit tighter, snuggling into him a bit more as she began to plant her kisses down along his neck. He hung up, the phone giving a loud click that seemed to echo through the room.

“My father, confirming a dinner I am to attend tonight.” Gabriel pulled himself from her grasp and kept his back to her as he began to pick up his scattered clothes on the floor. He began getting dressed,letting out a soft hiss as the silk of his shirt settled on the scratches on his back, then smoothed back his pale hair and slid on his glasses. “I am having dinner with my parents and my fiancée.”

“Wait, Gabriel… Does this mean that you know about-” The woman slid from the bed, a smile crossing her face as she reached out for him, but his next words made her stop in her tracks. 

“She is a Graham de Vanily, a very exceptional lady from what my father has told me, the eldest daughter of twins.” Gabriel put in as he picked his wallet off of the side table, tucking it into his pocket. “I believe she will make an exceptional wife, and an even better mother to any of my heirs.”

“Wh-hat? Wait, Gabriel, what about us?” She abruptly grabbed his arm and tugged it so that he turned towards her. At the sight of his flat, cold blue eyes, she felt her blood begin to roar through her veins. Her hands trembled and she dug her nails into his arm, though unintentionally. “What about me?”

“Benigna, you were lovely to have as a good place to take care of each other’s bodily needs.” He grabbed her wrist, squeezed it so hard that the pain caused her to release her grasp on his shirt. When she opened her mouth to speak, he gave her wrist another squeeze, a warning. A whimper left her lips. “But I am an Agreste, I need a woman from a prestigious family, a woman with as fine of a pedigree as my own. Émilie Graham de Vanily is the perfect woman for me, a woman whose family is perfect for my own. She is utterly beautiful, in perfect shape. She has the proper education, the proper skills to be a proper wife to give me my heir.” 

Beninga felt her throat tightened and she began to tremble. No, this all had to be a mistake, some sort of sick joke.

“B-But Gabriel, I-I’m..”

“A decent woman, yes, but nowhere near worthy enough of being my wife. You should have known going into this partnership of ours, that it would eventually end.” Gabriel gave her a disappointed look, then stepped away as he gestured towards her, the entirety of her body, still wrapped up in a bedsheet. “Your family is mediocre. You have no status, no influence, barely anything of worth for an Agreste.” 

Benigna fought back the tears, her hands curled into fists. No, this couldn’t be real, none of this could be real. This all couldn’t have been some sort of simple arrangement, a ‘partnership’. The word sounded so cold, almost sterile. It sounded so wrong to refer to those nights of passion, those nights she had thought were full of love as a mere ‘arrangement’. To think that it all meant nothing to him.

“So it was all nothing? Those nice dinners, that night of dancing?” She blurted out as she hugged herself, glared at his retreating back. "That night you took me to the opera?"

“Merely something nice, due to your companionship. I will send you money, if you wish, but this relationship is ending. I do hope, Benigna, that you find yourself a suitable partner for one of your station. Farewell.” Gabriel didn’t once look back as he left the small dorm room. Benigna dropped to her knees, buried her face into her hands, and began to sob.

…

A few weeks later, Benigna found herself in front of Gabriel’s home. She pressed a shaky finger to the doorbell of the gate, heard the faint buzzing. In the past few weeks, Gabriel Agreste had announced his engagement to one miss Émilie Graham de Vanily. Benigna had seen the pictures in the paper, on the TV, on the large screens in the city squares, that thousands would watch in passing. The woman was very beautiful, with her golden blonde hair and vibrant green eyes, she reminded Benigna of a princess, a perfect woman. Gabriel’s perfect woman. 

“What do you think you are doing here?” Gabriel stepped through the gate as soon as it opened, in such a furious fashion that it made Benigna take a step back. His pale eyes slid over her body before they settled on her pale face. “If you are here to cause trouble, I will call security this second.”

“N-no, Gabriel, I just.. I have something for you.” Benigna reached into her purse, though she flinched when she heard him scoff, as if this was suddenly the biggest chore in the world. She glanced up at him as he slowly shook his head and made his way to her. 

“I do not want anything from you. I do not want to see your face again. Honestly, here I thought you were an actual adult, not some child chasing after the foolish fairytales of a prince and marriage.” He set a hand on her shoulder, gripped it fiercely and gave her a shove. The abrupt motion caused her to stumble back a few steps. “Get it in your head, before I have to take legal action against you.”

“Gabriel, please, I-I don’t want to marry you, I just want to tell you about-” She tried again, once again reaching into her purse. 

“Leave now before I have you tossed off of the property, and I’ll file for a restraining order against you. Maybe get you deported back to Italy!” Gabriel snapped, his fierce blue eyes making her shiver and tear up. “I never want to see you again. Come anywhere near me, my wife, or my parents and I will make you pay, I will destroy your future. I refuse to be seen with someone as low class as you. And if you do anything to try and ruin my wedding, I will do everything in my power to make sure you have no career.” 

Benigna watched helplessly as Gabriel headed back inside, the tall iron gates slammed loudly back into place. She nearly doubled over, hot tears streaming down her cheeks as she clutched the small envelope in her hands, the one containing the ultrasound of their little baby, that was now growing in her belly.

“Gabriel, please.. I can’t do this all alone..”

She returned to her dorm and curled up, her hands pressed to her slightly round belly. How had Gabriel not noticed it, not felt her belly, their child, when she had embraced him, or even now, he had not noticed it, such a change? He couldn’t have not noticed, he just couldn’t. He was a man that noticed everything, he had noticed her the first time they had had that political sciences class together. He had said that she carried herself with such confidence and grace, he couldn’t help but go and talk to her. It was a week after that, when he had taken her out to dinner, that she had begun falling for him. 

She wiped furiously at her tears, realizing that she was sobbing. He had been so kind, so good to her, he had to love her back, he just had to.. She clenched her eyes shut, her hands clutched her belly. She was only two months along. Her baby was so tiny, so new, they were growing inside of her, a part of her, a part of Gabriel.. And he hadn’t even listened to her long enough to learn about her. Or if he knew, he probably wanted nothing to do with the baby. Her baby.

Fine. He wanted to be an asshole about this? He could go ahead and marry that ‘perfect bride’ of his. Have his ‘perfect’ heir, like in a perfect house, and live a perfect wife. Let his father and mother tell him what they wanted from him, and he’d leap and do whatever they wished. 

She made herself relax, and spent a few hours collecting herself, rubbing her belly and taking the time to look at the wrinkled ultrasound picture. The picture of her little baby. Her eyes teared up as she thought of the tiny life growing inside of her, the small life she would have to protect. If Gabriel didn’t want to be a part of his child’s life, she wasn’t going to force him. No, she wasn’t sad anymore, after much thought, she was downright furious. 

She had wasted almost a year with Gabriel Agreste, a year of her life that she could never get back, and he had carelessly tossed her aside. She had known he had been from a wealthy family, old money, from what she’s heard, but that hadn't mattered to her. She hadn’t asked him for money, he’d never gotten her jewelry or any kind of gifts, she still lived in her small, cramped dorm room. 

She had thought about marriage once or twice, yes, but what kind of woman in love hadn’t? She had thought about getting a home with Gabriel, of both of them living their lives, him with his designing and her diplomatic work. She already had a job set up being a foreign service worker here in Paris. They’d work, yes, but they’d both dedicate their lives to raising their children. She saw now that those dreams were nothing but ash.

She’d wanted a marriage full of love, full of trust and devotion. Gabriel wouldn’t have given her that, she had been blind to that. It had just been sex, just things that he needed, his base urges. He had only cared about things being.. Perfect. He had even gone as far as to insult her parents, whose marriage was one Benigna admired and aimed for. One where they were married now going on forty years. They had married young, and they had had their spats, yes, but they still loved each other, they were a unit that stood firm and took care of the family, the life that they had built together.

Oh God, her parents.. What would she tell her parents? She had been hoping she and Gabriel would tell them together… 

That caused Benigna to burst into tears once again. By the end of it, when she had calmed down, she finally called that long distance call back to Italy. Upon hearing her mother’s warm voice when she picked up, she began to cry once again.

“Oh, mi Benigna, what is wrong? I am here sweetheart, whatever you need.” Her mother spoke, only concern for her distressed daughter on her mind. And her daughter told her everything, down to the very last detail.

When Beninga was met with silence after telling her tale, she had been fearful that her mother had hung up on her. But soon her mother spoke again.

“My sweet, if you want to come home, you can. You come home right away, and we’ll help you take care of your baby. Your father and I will pay for your ticket and you can come right home. We will help you with everything.” She soothed, and Benigna wished she had her mother right in front of her, to hug her tight. “We will get you the next plane ticket back here, right this second.” 

Benigna gave herself to calm down, to wipe away those tears and collect herself. She felt such warmth and love radiating from this one phone call, those simple words her mother spoke that meant so much to her. She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.

“Mama.. I only have a few months left before I graduate. Let me finish this up first, it would be a waste to drop out with such a small stretch left to complete. Then I will fly right home to you and Papa, and I’ll have my baby. Is.. Is Papa upset?” She whispered that last question softly, her hands trembled around the phone she gripped tighter.

“Not at you, mia bella, he is more so upset at that horrible man and what he has done with you. Claiming he has no honour, among other things.” Her mother mused, and the two women shared a soft chuckle.

“I was a fool, Mama, a fool to believe in him..” She sighed as her hand once again returned to her belly, already daydreaming of holding them in her arms. “I am so foolish, to believe the words of a man who has nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

…

The months went by in a blur for Benigna. She avoided Gabriel, avoided the friends that they shared, but if she encountered them and they commented on her rounding belly, she’d merely say that she was coping with a bad breakup with a large amount of ice cream. She wasn’t going to let Gabriel anywhere near her baby. 

She would lay in bed, late at night, near tears as she tried to swallow down the hurt and the heartbreak, but those feelings still clung to her like leeches, trying their best to drain her of any happiness, to go down the path of misery. 

But she wouldn’t let it, she wouldn’t let him. Gabriel and his need to please, his need to fit in the box his parents forced him into, the box that his perfect bride was forced into. She was determined to never do that to her own child. She would give so much love to this child, more love than two parents could ever give. She would be a dedicated mother to this life that was so small, so new. She would give this child freedom to be whoever they wanted to be, to love whoever they wanted to love, though she’d step in if she knew that that person was dangerous for them. Her life would be dedicated to herself and her child, she wouldn’t give into fancy, into foolish dreams of romance without facing reality ever again. 

On the day of her graduation, she didn’t even stay after the ceremony. She flew straight home, and to her small town. The cab pulled up in front of her parent’s small home, a place of warmth and so many memories for Benigna. Her mother was out of the front door and making her way down the walkway as her daughter was getting out of the cab, a hand on her five month pregnant belly. 

When her mother embraced her, Benigna was overwhelmed by the smell of sugar and cinnamon. Her mother must have been baking before she had arrived, the realization caused warmth to spread through her.

“I have some cinnamon rolls waiting inside for you, sweetheart, and we have your room ready. Freshly cleaned bedding and fresh flowers in your room. We even cleaned out our spare room for the baby, we’re looking for a crib now.” Her mother took to the house once they had gathered up her bags, and she stepped into home and all of her worries at that moment melted away. 

“Wait, mama, hold on! I can find a crib myself, don’t worry about such things. I will get everything I need for the baby, please.” Benigna rushed over to her mother, but her mouth snapped shut when her mother held up a hand.

“Now that is enough. I am already talking with Paulo, you know, the carpenter? Well, he and his wife have a crib they are no longer using, so they said that they would give it to us. And one of our neighbours has agreed to give us her high chair, as well as..” 

Benigna listened in stunned silence as her mother went on and one about all of the things she and her father had already gotten ready for the baby. 

“What colour would you like the baby’s room to be?” Her father stepped into the front hall with them, still as tall and imposing as ever. He was a man who had worked hard all of his life for himself and his family, and he still worked hard today to keep in firm shape, despite his age. 

“Y-you two..” Benigna whispered, but felt her throat tighten as she was practically swamped by the love they were giving so unconditionally. No anger, no blame, no resentment from either. She fell into pieces as her father embraced her as she began to cry.

After she arrived home, she felt.. Better, as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. Perhaps it was due to being in a completely different country than Gabriel, of being surrounded by love once again. 

She managed to get a part time office job. She didn’t want to start her career and have to leave right away due to her pregnancy, then motherhood. Baby steps, she needed to take baby steps with all of this.

Everyone in the town was welcoming, at least, to her face. There were a few that she had heard about, disapproving about how she was a single mother having a baby out of wedlock, though she ignored it. She wouldn’t trade this baby for all of the money in the world, wouldn’t give this baby up for a future with Gabriel, at the smallest chance of him leaving his fiancée and choosing to be with her. Which would happen when pigs flew. 

Benigna continued to stroll down the sidewalk in the center of town, her hands full of bags of baby clothes and toys. So lost in her thoughts, Benigna didn’t even notice the man running towards her, as she began to descend some stairs, heading towards a small shop her mother had recommended for her. She swore, her mother almost more excited about the baby than herself, but only almost. The man shoved past her, shouting something in a phone he was holding to his ear. He didn’t even glance back when she cried out and fell down the steps, soon finding herself sprawled on her ground. 

“Miss! Are you okay?!” A young teen ran up to her, looking rather panicked as he knelt next to the woman. He noticed her round belly and turned abruptly to his friend. “Livia, call an ambulance!”

Benigna felt panic the entire way to her hospital, continuing to scream and cry, begging them to save her baby. The fall had only been a small tumble, but she felt pain in her stomach and had feared the worst.

It all went by in a blur, being rushed into the ER, the nurses asking her questions, the doctors, as she kept begging and begging for them to check on her baby. Before eventually, she was left to sit in a room, on a hospital bed as her hand trailed over her round belly. 

“Hello, Miss Leone.” A tall man stepped into the room then, dressed in the spotless white doctor’s coat and a clipboard in his hand. Benigna had to judge that he was a few years, a mess of dark brown hair, a handsome face and strong jaw. But what caught her attention the most was his eyes, such a fierce and soul piercing kind of green. “I am Dr. Rossi. It seems you had a bit of a spill.”

“Please, Dr. Rossi, my baby, are they safe?!” She leaned forward a bit more. The doctor saw how her hands grasped her shirt over her round belly, how they trembled as if holding on for dear life. He set a gentle hand over hers.

“You baby is fine, perfectly healthy. The worst thing you will need are the stitches they gave your forehead, and some minor scrapes and bruises. You are quite healthy as well, your scans and blood tests came back just fine. You’re fine.” He gave her hand a gentle little squeeze, as their eyes met. “Would you like me to call your husband for you, get him to pick you up?”

“O-oh, well, I’m not… Not married..” She found that her cheeks heated up, practically burned when she met the handsome doctor’s gaze, before her gaze flickered away. “I am living with my parents now. I’m.. I’m, well, alone, I guess.”

“Oh. Please forgive me for assuming, I should have asked.” He cleared his throat and took a step back, focusing his gaze on the clipboard. Wait, was he blushing? “Well, I’m going to have the nurses double check the stitches and the cuts, just to be safe, and you will be free to go.”

“Thank you, Dr. Rossi. I really appreciate it.” She pressed a hand to her belly once more, watching as he left. He paused in the doorway, looking as if he were about to say something, but chose instead to merely smile and leave her be, with a nurse coming in a few minutes later to check her over.

…

Benigna found herself bumping into Dr. Rossi on occasion during her outings in town. When they did, they’d walk and talk if they had a chance, Benigna about her goals to becoming an ambassador, and Marcello, she soon found his name was, had always dreamed of being a doctor, of helping those in need.

She found he was kind and gentle, as well as an astoundingly hilarious sense of humour. No one had made her laugh so much as he did, making her laugh to the point of tears and she was gasping for breath. She felt as if she were walking on the cloud. With the two months she spent with Marcello, Gabriel hadn’t even crossed her mind. 

All of that bliss slid away as soon as one day she arrived at the hospital, carrying a small box of pastries. The receptionist at the counter gave her a sad smile. 

“I’m guessing that he never told you. Dr. Rossi had to return to Rome, his mother’s health took a sudden turn.” She shook her head in obvious pity, before reaching out the deflating woman’s hand a gentle pat. “I’m sure he’ll be back once she is all better.”

But he didn’t come back .His time at the hospital was up, and he had taken a job at a hospital in Rome, she bet. Always choose the better option than the one from a small town. Benigna scolded herself for getting her hopes up again.

… 

Four months later, her daughter was born. Benigna held the squabbling little baby in her arms, her body drenched with sweat, in absolute agony from her labour. But seeing the tiny little girl in her arms, it was well worth it. 

“She’s so tiny, just like you were..” Her mother crooned softly, her large smile hidden behind the surgical mask she had been told to wear, rubbing her hand from when her daughter had squeezed it while giving birth. “Did you think of a name for her?”

“I was thinking.. Noemi. My little Noemi.” Benigna let out a soft sob at the sight of her little daughter, before she glanced up at her mother. “My gift, and I’ll be a better parent without him. He will never know her.”

…

“Mama, can we go to the park?” Noemi tugged on her mother’s hand, the two of them walking along the sidewalk, while the little three year old pointed frantically at the entrance to the park that they were passing. “Please, please Mama!”

“Well…” Beninga glanced down at her watch with a small frown, before she chuckled. “I suppose we can, I don’t have to be at my appointment for another few hours.” 

“Yay!” Noemi hopped alongside her mother as they made their way towards the park, the warm sun beating down on them. Benigna took a seat on a bench under the shade of a large tree, while Noemi took off, running around the playground and laughing with pure delight as she joined the other children.

“I must say, she has grown quite well. She’ll no doubt grow to be a real beauty.” 

The sudden voice behind her had the young woman jolting on the bench, before she turned and stared at the person behind her.

Dr. Rossi gave her a wry smile as he leaned against the back of the bench. His thick hair was windswept, his tall, broad figure clad in a pair of faded jeans and an old t shirt. To Benigna, he looked like the most handsome man on earth.

"Marcello.." His name left her lips in a soft whisper as she got to her feet. Her heart began to pound wildly in her chest as her gaze met his amazingly green eyes. "I thought you were going to be staying in Rome.."

"I would have, but let's just say, a few things brought me back." He smiled and held out his hand, taking hers and kissing her knuckles. "I missed you, Benigna."

It only took a few months before the two were engaged. 

Noemi adored her father. Marcello loved his new daughter. Many in the village would see the two going to get ice cream whenever Mrs. Rossi wanted an evening to herself, or the family of three going to the park or the movies together, whenever Marcello or Benigna had time off of work. 

And two years after their wedding day, a fourth member was added to the family.

"Mimi.. Come and meet your little sister." Marcello scooped seven year old Noemi into his arms, smiling to himself as he felt her small, thin arms wrap around his neck, holding on for dear life. The two of them made their way over to the hospital bed, where a weary Benigna lay, holding a bundle in her arms.

"This is Lila, Noemi. Want to say hello?" She murmured, her lashes fluttering slightly as she felt both in extreme pain, and exhausted.

Noemi stared down at the chubby, scrunched up face of her new baby sister, her little rosebud mouth pursed, as if in deep thought, before it spilt into a wide grin.

"Hello Lila! Don't you worry, I'll be the best big sister ever!"


End file.
